Background: School meals were served free of charge to all public school students in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, but some students still did not participate. Methods: In this mixed-methods study, surveys and interviews were conducted with food service directors (FSDs) from California (n = 556 surveys; n = 29 interviews) and…

As the sustainability imperative looms, mainstream educational research in the English-speaking world continues a long tradition of failing to see food as integral to education. Japan's tradition of "Shokuiku" (food education) stands in stark contrast, providing an external reference point to direct critical attention on Anglo-American…

Background: Incorporating scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods into school meal programs can enhance meal quality and support local food systems. Methods: 430 California school food authorities were surveyed to (1) evaluate their use of scratch-cooked, organic, and locally grown foods in their programs; (2) identify demographic and…

Congressional Republicans are reportedly considering spending cuts to balance the cost of extending the tax cuts they enacted in 2017. One proposal is to raise the eligibility threshold for the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which lets schools provide federally reimbursed free meals to all students. This change would cut the number of…

Purpose/Objectives: Explore principal, foodservice staff, and parent perceptions of implementing reusable serviceware in elementary school lunch settings. Methods: Cross-sectional qualitative study conducted May-June 2024 in one California school district which recently transitioned to reusable serviceware. School staff (n=19) participated in…

This report summarizes findings from the School Meals Operations Study (SMO), part of an ongoing series to assess school meal operations on a school year (SY) basis. This volume of the study covers July 2021 through the end of September 2022 and includes SY 2021-2022. When the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, the Families First Coronavirus…

This action research study explores how co-developing school meals can be taken as a case for education for sustainable development, as integrated to home economics education. We analyse a seven-month-process of collaborative participation in a Finnish secondary school conducted with two home economics teachers, a school food manager, and students…